The Malta Union of Teachers has issued a one-week ultimatum, giving the government until May 24 to conclude the pending sectoral collective agreement for teachers of government and Church schools.

The decision to register a trade dispute came following a meeting called by the teachers' union after discussions with the government on the new collective agreement collapsed.

Members were briefed on the latest developments related to the discussions on their new collective agreement. 

In a statement, the MUT council said it had experienced a regression of negotiations in the past week which led to the declaration of its mistrust in the negotiating arms of the government - IRU.

Discussions between the Malta Union of Teachers and the Industrial Relations Unit had stalled, with the union declaring its mistrust in the unit, tasked by the government to negotiate collective agreements.

"It is clear that the government negotiating arm is not willing to conclude the agreement in a timely manner and to the satisfaction of MUT and its members," the council said.

It gave the government one week to "seek a resolution to the current situation, that would lead to a satisfactory agreement".  

Talks are also stalled on agreements covering all grades at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology and the Institute for Tourism Studies.

Earlier this week, the union wrote to members informing them of its mistrust in the IRU.

Talks on the new collective agreement have been ongoing since December 2022.

Teachers who spoke to Times of Malta on condition of anonymity said they have had enough of this situation. "We've been patient for far too long. The government should put its money where its mouth is and conclude these agreements. Teachers are among the most underpaid and its about time we put an end to it."

Another teacher said that now that the European Parliament and council elections were coming up, the government needed to show that it values educators.

"We've been hearing that the government wants a clear mandate on June 8. The teachers are not ready to give this if there's no agreement. Enough is enough."

'Strong financial proposals'

The Education Ministry said in a statement it expected the teachers’ union to inform its members about the “strong financial proposals” made by the government during talks.

It also said it was willing to continue meeting the MUT and had extended this invitation earlier on Friday when it invited the MUT to another meeting. 

Last year, MUT president Marco Bonnici accused the government of having failed to keep its electoral promise to substantially improve the working conditions of educators.

He was referring to a statement by Prime Minister Robert Abela before the 2022 general election when he had promised to “significantly strengthen” teachers’ salaries if Labour was re-elected.

Following the breakdown in discussions last November, the union had issued a set of directives to teachers and educators in all Church and state schools. Directives included not carrying out class assessments, refraining from meeting parents and submitting attendance sheets.

The industrial action culminated in a one-day strike on November 27, 2023.

Following the suspension of industrial action, talks resumed and were proceeding well until the focus turned to the financial package, sources close to the sector told Times of Malta.